Training Marine Mammals

Since the marine mammals cannot tell us what they like and don't like, the trainers look carefully at the frequency of their behaviour after they apply a reinforcer. If the frequency goes down, the trainers will assume that the animal didn't like the reinforcement very much, so they try different reinforcers to find something that increases the frequency of the behaviour.

The trainer doesn't want to draw attention to an incorrectly performed behaviour, so he or she does nothing. This three or four second pause acts like a "time out," referred to as the "least reinforcing stimulus". Whether a whale will perform a behaviour depends upon its energy levels on that particular day, which makes the shows unique. The shows are run on the basis that whatever happens will happen and the total health care of the animal is the main objective and so the whales are never forced into doing behaviours.

The trainers at the Aquarium use environmental enrichment to mentally stimulate the whales and dolphin. This is done by showing them new objects such as a television monitor, a mirror or any interesting or odd-shaped item. Children sometimes draw pictures to place on the windows of the underwater viewing area and whales will come by to look carefully at each one. Whales enjoy a challenge and one of the ways to provide a challenge is to teach them new behaviours.

High energy behaviours may include breaches (leaping out of the water), dolphin jumps and lobtailing.

There is no set time. It may take months or even years to train a marine mammal. It requires patience since the training has to take place in gradual steps called approximations. It takes many hours of relationship building prior to training before the animal may respond to the trainer.

There is always the possibility of danger when working with wild animals, however if the trust between trainer and animal is solid the chance of injury is reduced. Trainers regularly dive safely in the beluga habitat to train and play with the belugas.

The whales do recognize individual trainers. If a trainer happens to be in the underwater viewing area, they will come by the window to see what's going on.

Trainers wear wet suits and scuba gear to dive into the beluga habitat. While training above the water they wear waterproof clothing and rain boots, and their whistles around their necks. A target pole, which acts as an extension of the trainer's arm, may be used for the more high-energy behaviours. As well, enrichment items are brought out for the marine mammals such as shaped ice and frisbees for the sea otters.

These marine mammals are most trained for husbandry and enrichment purposes, not to perform for audiences. The Steller sea lions, in particular, are trained for research. They are trained to lie still while researchers take measurements of their body, to swim on the swimmill to check energy levels, or to wear a special camera "backpack" (called a Critter Cam) to research possible use on wild Stellers to reveal their underwater habits. The Aquarium, in partnership with the North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium is hoping to learn more about the declining population of wild Steller sea lions by studying trained Stellers at the Aquarium.

Training sessions vary in length from a few minutes to thirty minutes, depending on the interest of the marine mammals. The sessions may be very short even though an animal is attentive, if the goal of the session is achieved.